Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting: How to Help the Tree of Life Victims

Eleven people were shot and killed inside their synagogue in Pittsburgh over the weekend by a man who reportedly told police he “wanted all Jews to die.”

The anti-Semitic attack left the Squirrel Hill community in Pittsburgh reeling, and Americans across the country scrambling to find ways to help. Among these efforts, Muslim-American organizations worked to raise more than $100,000 for the victims and their families in just two days, and the Pittsburgh Penguins — the city’s NHL team — has organized a donation page and a blood drive in wake of the shooting.

There are numerous ways to help the victims, their families, the Tree of Life Synagogue, the city of Pittsburgh, and Jewish communities around the country. Here’s what you can do.

Donate to the victims’ families and Tree of Life synagogue

A verified GoFundMe page has raised more than $570,000 from more than 10,000 donors since it began Saturday. The funds will go directly to Tree of Life, the synagogue where the shooting occurred. You can donate to this campaign here.

You can also donate to Tree of Life directly online through PayPal here or send the synagogue a check.

Following the horrific shooting in Pittsburgh, a verified GoFundMe has been created to support the survivors & victims' families. All money raised will be transferred directly to the Tree of Life Synagogue. https://t.co/4GKY7WLJkf

Two Muslim-American organizations have collected tens of thousands of dollars for the victims and their families. The effort has raised more than $121,000 as of Monday morning, and the group plans to work with the Tree of Life synagogue to address “the immediate, short-term needs of the injured victims and grieving families.” You can donate to the fund here.

As Muslims, we stand with the Jewish community – our Abrahamic cousins – against the senseless, anti-Semitic murder in Pittsburgh. Join us in responding to evil with good, hate with love. Help the shooting victims here: https://t.co/v01cOUYdqkpic.twitter.com/yCUepCBOKy

The Pittsburgh Penguins, on top of donating $25,000 Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh and another $25,000 to the city’s Department of Public Safety to help injured police officers, has organized a donation night at Tuesday’s game at the PPG Paints Arena to help the victims, impacted families, and first responders to the shooting. Donors can also give online here.

GoFundMe has also verified a campaign made for Pittsburgh Police SWAT Officer Tim Matson, who was injured while responding to the shooting. You can donate to Matson’s fund here.

Give blood

Blood donation centers in Pittsburgh lengthened their hours over the weekend to accommodate for an influx of blood donations to help those injured during the shooting.

Vitalant, a Pittsburgh-area, non-profit blood donation center, is asking people to keep donating blood. The organization has partnered with the Pittsburgh Penguins to hold a blood donation drive Monday at the PPG Paints Arena, and potential donors can look into other ways they can give blood here.

Support Jewish organizations

The man who allegedly opened fire at the Tree of Life synagogue reportedly posted a message on the social media platform Gab before the shooting – and mentioned a nonprofit organization dedicated to humanitarian aid for refugees.

That organization, called the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (or HIAS), was first established in 1881 to help protect Jewish refugees and now protects and provides assistance to refugees around the world.

“As we try to process this horrifying tragedy, we pray that the American Jewish community and the country can find healing,” the organization said in a statement following the shooting.

There are also a number of Pittsburgh-based Jewish organizations you can donate money to. Those include the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, which offers a number of ways to donate here, as well as the city’s Jewish Family and Community Services, a social services program you can donate to online here. There’s also the local Jewish Community Center, which offers recreational and educational activities for the Jewish community, and the city’s chapter of Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish organization. You can donate to those groups online here and here, respectively.

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